This is a guest post written by Skwigg. This girl is a walking dictionary of food and nutrition facts, has read and tried MULTIPLE fitness plans, and every time I check, she’s read another “hot of the press” diet book. And, she tells it like it is.

skwigg

Well, it took like 25 years of trial and error, but I am a happy eater. I follow no rules. I count no calories. I’m completely over nutrient ratios, meal timing and measuring cups. Plus, as an added bonus, I’m not fat. Any time I’ve flirted with this “intuitive eating” stuff before, I’ve quickly become too fat for my little pants. This time I’m gradually losing. I’m 5’8″ and weigh 135-137 most days. I don’t know my percentage of body fat. It’s possible that I’m losing muscle and brains. I’m not concerned enough to get out the calipers. My Tanita scale tells me that I’m between 14% and 24% body fat. Helpful, eh? It’s like asking a Magic 8 Ball. The readout may as well say “Concentrate and ask again.” Or “Signs point to yes.” All I know is that my yoga pants are loose! Woohoo!

So, why did intuitive eating work this time when it’s destroyed my abs so many times before? I’ve been trying to figure that out. I know that in the past I’ve used intuitive eating as an excuse to binge. I’d turn to it after a bout of really restrictive dieting, or when I couldn’t face my nutrition software, or when I wasn’t accountable to a trainer. My “intuition” would tell me to eat boxes of glazed donuts and sheets of cookies. I’d gain weight, scoff at the total lameness of this “embrace your inner cow” intuitive hoody-hoo, and go right back to obsessive dieting, tracking and measuring. I wrote down every single thing I ate or drank for TWO YEARS. That was not fun, and actually not helpful.

I’m more relaxed now. I don’t make food decisions from a place of frustration and panic. My intuition really likes strawberries. I eat chocolate every day. I like bagels. I like to eat out. I’m not limiting myself to dieter food but I’m very aware of portions. I eat one Cadbury Egg, not six. I eat mini-bagels, not those bakery bagels the size of my head. I understand that a typical restaurant serving is enough to feed four people.

Last time I tried intuitive eating, portion control was my downfall. I believed those books that said to eat as many cookies as I wanted and that eventually I wouldn’t want as many. Right!! Weeks later, I still wanted every cookie that had ever been baked. I was reeling out of control on a blood sugar rollercoaster. The more junk I ate, the more junk I wanted. I was never able to pull it together enough to even maintain my weight, much less lose.

Some things that really helped me this time:

- I weigh myself every day. If you’re not going to count calories or measure your food, you’d better be keeping an eye on something. It could be weight, waist measurement, a caliper pinch, a pair of jeans, but you need some kind of objective feedback. If you choose not to track your food and not to look at any of your measurements, then you’d better go buy some fat pants.

- I eat what I want but I always control portions. Generally, the more I want something, the more I need to watch out. I can play fast and loose with spinach but I’d better take my ice cream in a single-serving container.

- I share. I never used to share before. Sharing is the greatest thing ever! You get to eat whatever you want and make everyone around you fat. Try it! Order the double-fudge super cookie dough caramel delight. Eat three bites and watch your dining companions devour the rest of it like hungry hyenas. Share your French fries. Split the sandwich. Order three tacos and only eat one of them. It’s exhilarating! Plus, I always have great leftovers.

- I strike a nice balance of healthy food and treats. You can’t eat an all-treat diet and look or feel very good. I eat loads of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. I love whole grains. I eat nuts and seeds like I’m a squirrel. I’m a sucker for a big salad. I enjoy lean protein as long as it’s not forced upon me every 2-3 hours. I eat a lot of healthy whole foods but I like to add a Pop Tart or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup for good measure.

- I don’t eat six times per day, or three times per day, or three meals and two snacks. I don’t follow anybody else’s rules because how does the book or the calculator know what I’m doing or when I’m going to be hungry? It doesn’t. So, I eat when I feel like it. On an active, hungry day I might eat 5-6 times. On a lazy day with restaurant food, I might eat 2-3 times. I’m no longer dumb enough try to force three more meals after lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

- I grasp the importance of good nutrition. I’m not knocking diet plans or nutrition programs, especially if you’re trying to achieve a sports performance or body comp goal. A little bit of structure can be good. I base my eating on the healthy principles I’ve learned but I don’t allow myself to become a slave to the details. And don’t believe that I can eat as many cookies as I want and still lose weight. Big derrrr there!

- I flow. That’s significant because I used to battle. I battled my weight. I struggled with willpower. I waged a war against fat. I fought with the numbers. I kicked myself when I slipped. My mindset was one big bloody massacre. My fitness goals were always at odds with what I really wanted, which was to relax and eat Cheetos. Now, if I want to relax and eat Cheetos, I do so immediately. No struggle. No stress. No guilt. I know that for my next meal I’ll choose something a little more ab-friendly.

PreciousMissy

05-20-2013 03:57 PM

Thanks for starting a new thread! I didn't realize we were over 500.

surfergirl2

05-20-2013 05:37 PM

This is a small victory, but i don't think it's ever happened before. You know those snack-size bags of chips? Well, i always thought they were so small they weren't even worth eating. Seriously. I would want at least 3 little bags at a time! Well yesterday, i ate one bag and didn't feel like i needed another one.

carolr3639

05-20-2013 05:50 PM

Quote:

Well yesterday, i ate one bag and didn't feel like i needed another one.

Wonderful!

the shiv

05-21-2013 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfergirl2
(Post 4747337)

This is a small victory, but i don't think it's ever happened before. You know those snack-size bags of chips? Well, i always thought they were so small they weren't even worth eating. Seriously. I would want at least 3 little bags at a time! Well yesterday, i ate one bag and didn't feel like i needed another one.

This is awesome :D That "I can take it or leave it" feeling is amazing :D :hug:

PreciousMissy

05-21-2013 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfergirl2
(Post 4747337)

This is a small victory, but i don't think it's ever happened before. You know those snack-size bags of chips? Well, i always thought they were so small they weren't even worth eating. Seriously. I would want at least 3 little bags at a time! Well yesterday, i ate one bag and didn't feel like i needed another one.

Way to go surfergirl!!! I think that is a tremendous victory!

I have a feeling today is going to be an unusual day for me, eating wise. I'm pretty much down to 2 meals a day. I typically eat a large lunch around 10-11:30 and then dinner around 6:30-8. I can already tell today is going to be a hungry day. I don't know if it's true hunger or if it's stress/emotional eating, but I have no intention of fighting it. I've noticed, in the past, if I fight something too much then I just go overboard. I'm going to handle today just as it needs to be handled and tomorrow is another day.

It might help my mood if I get my radio station to something a little more upbeat :dizzy:

Truffle

05-22-2013 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pattygirl63
(Post 4741683)

One thing that I read recently is that when we are at peace with food and aren't concerned with deprivation of dieting when eating with friends, we can focus more on the fellowship with the friends and enjoy what we want of the food available and we probably not have a tendency to overeat. When I read that, I thought about how I do when I eat at church fellowship meetings. I enjoy walking around and visiting with the people and I realized that I end up eating only if they have what I really like and most of the time I don't eat much. There are times when I don't eat at a meeting because there just isn't anything there that I want to eat.

This is a good point, Trish. I always tell my husband that if I had to eat at church potlucks all the time, I'd be a TOOTHPICK.

That's because I am very squeamish about eating food that I don't know how sanitary the kitchen or cook were that prepared the food. I hate eating at restaurants for the same reason.

I have to force myself to eat at church potlucks, because the whole time I'm wondering about the cleanliness of the kitchen for each of the foods on my plate.

That's weird, I know, but just the way I've always been.

I was once helping set up for a church meal years ago and the pastor was cooking a huge pot of spaghetti sauce. When I saw him stick his BARE HAND AND ARM up to the elbow in the pot to stir the sauce, I nearly gagged, and wasn't able to eat a single bite of the spaghetti.

PreciousMissy

05-22-2013 11:21 AM

Hello all!

Yesterday was unusual as I predicted. Part of me wonders if it was a self fulfilling prophecy. I have noticed lately that I've missed the sensation of eating. I'm not necessarily hungry, but I have the desire to eat. I guess I should research and find out why.

I think today is going to be a different day though! Since I ate every time the mood struck me yesterday I don't feel like I'm missing anything right now. Eating doesn't have much appeal at the moment.

carolr3639

05-22-2013 12:20 PM

Quote:

When I saw him stick his BARE HAND AND ARM up to the elbow in the pot to stir the sauce, I nearly gagged, and wasn't able to eat a single bite of the spaghetti.

Woah!

PreciousMissy

05-23-2013 12:25 PM

Yesterday certainly was the complete opposite of Tuesday! I didn't eat until 3 p.m., which ended up being a yummy wonton soup! Then later last night I had a few slices of corned beef.

I felt a little hungry this morning, but after a couple of cups of coffee I'm feeling a bit more "meh, I'll eat later" about it.

And Becky, I completely missed the spaghetti story yesterday...now I really don't want to eat haha! What a visual!!!

BigSky

05-23-2013 02:38 PM

confused

How do you start doing this "intuitive eating" stuff? Can someone lead me to a thread, website, or book to learn more about this? I am interested but don't know where to start. Thanks

BigSky - If you Google the book that Carolr3936 mentioned and add .pdf you can find a copy to read. Lunar's link also has some great information, too.

I've learned a lot from just this thread on it's own. I love intuitive eating...love, love, love it. I will admit, it took me a while to get use to it. The biggest thing for me was learning to be ok with being hungry, and having the patience to wait until I could have what I really wanted to eat.